Monday, June 11, 2012

As much as I love doing guest posts, I had recently sworn off doing any until I could get caught up on my own blog. Yet, just days after making this resolution, I received a guest post invitation from the folks at Bldg 25. I happen to be a follower of the blog, and a big fan of the clothing brand, Free People, which the site represents. If you're wondering what a clothing company's blog might have to do with food, hop on over, as you'll be pleasantly surprised to find blog posts about everything from diy projects to beauty tips, and much more.
Being a fan, I could hardly say no {I was also quite flattered to be asked!} - so I got to work developing this recipe, as part of their new series titled Living Local, which "explores the different facets of living a mindful locavore lifestyle". When given the option, buying local is always my preferred method when choosing the foods we eat, and I am quite lucky to live in an area that has some of the most extensive and plentiful Farmers' Markets around.

For this recipe, I paid a visit to the Westport Farmers' Market, which happens to be one of my favorites. Not only because it's large, with a vast selection of locally grown produce, but also because they're committed to selecting vendors who sell organic, and non-GMO foods only. This results in one potential downside for me, in that there are so many beautiful items to choose from, I end up buying more than I intended to! As case in point, after arriving with the intention of buying one bunch of greens, this trip yielded two bunches of mizuna {one red variegated & one green}, a bunch of spinach, a bag of mesclun greens, and a small container of red orach micro greens...not to mention the items I purchased which were unrelated to this recipe. When I got home and mulled over some ideas, I decided to incorporate all of the greens in a pasta salad dressed with a pesto made using fresh spinach.

I love traditional basil pesto, but frankly I'm not the biggest fan of having it over pasta. Mostly because I find it can be too overwhelming a flavor when eating so much of it. I prefer using basil pesto in other applications, such as drizzled over fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, dolloped on homemade pizza, or substituting it for mayonnaise on a sandwich. This inspired my interest in making a pesto with a milder favor, that I could enjoy over pasta, and which allowed the ingredients served with it a chance to stand out as well.
I began by swapping out the basil in favor of fresh spinach, which is not only a notably milder green, but also a significantly less expensive one. Another change was the oil I used. The slightly bitter flavor of olive oil can stand up to bold-flavored basil, however, it's not as well suited for spinach. So, after experimenting with some neutral-flavored oils that I thought might work well with spinach, I decided the best match was grapeseed oil.
Finally, another component of pesto that I usually always have on hand, is good Parmesan cheese. But the day I made this, I happened to have a block of Grana Padano in the fridge. This turned out to be a blessing, because I actually loved it for this recipe. In fact, I might go as far as saying I preferred it.

Farmers Market Salad with Spinach Pesto

Serves 4-6
{printable recipe}This
salad is really about using what’s available to you locally. Any bitter
green can be substituted for the mizuna, and likewise any milder leafy
green can be used in place of the mesclun. Spinach pesto is milder than
traditional basil pesto, making it perfect for kids, and it’s more
economical. This recipe yields about 1 ½ cups of pesto, so you’ll have plenty for
leftovers, and pesto freezes well!

Add
the spinach, pine nuts, cheese, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food
processor. With the processor running, slowly pour the grapeseed oil in
through the feed tube. Process until smooth.

Pour
about a ½ cup of the spinach pesto over the cooked pasta, and toss to
coat evenly. Add more, if desired, until the pasta is coated well with
pesto. If necessary, tear or coarsely chop the mizuna and mesclun greens
into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the pasta, and toss gently. Taste,
and season with a bit more salt and freshly ground pepper to your
liking.

Transfer
the pasta salad to a serving platter, or divide among serving plates,
and sprinkle with some pine nuts and a bit more freshly grated cheese.
Garnish the top with a few pinches of colorful micro greens {I used
micro red orach}, and serve.

I made this for a fussy eater and they ate it up never knowing it was full of spinach! I liked the mild flavour as I too am not a huge fan of basil pestos on pasta. I had to replace the pinenuts with almonds as I couldn't find any at my local store.